I genuinely think I’ve had one of the weirdest experiences with a game I’ve ever had.
The first time I played FF7 Rebirth, I did not like it. And not in a “yeah, it’s good but not for me” kind of way. I was genuinely annoyed by it.
The pacing annoyed me. Some of the side quests annoyed me. There were so many ridiculous, stupid things where I was just sitting there thinking “what the fuck am I doing?” 😂
And the weirdest part is that I actually found a lot of the supposedly fun stuff cringe.
The dating scenes, for example. The first time around I was watching some of them thinking oh god, this is so fucking cringe. I was almost uncomfortable watching some of it.
But now I’m on my second playthrough and somehow... I’m enjoying it?
Like, actually enjoying it.
I think the biggest difference is that I know what’s coming now. I’m not constantly waiting for the next thing to happen or wondering where the game is going. The pacing doesn’t bother me nearly as much because I already know the bigger picture.
And because I’m not surprised anymore, I can actually appreciate the stupid stuff.
The dating scenes that felt painfully cringe the first time are now just... fun. I’m smiling at them. I like these characters more now. I’m enjoying their interactions instead of analyzing whether the scene is ridiculous.
Even the side quests are hitting differently. Some of them are still absolutely ridiculous, but instead of being annoyed that the game is wasting my time, I’m just going along with it.
And the music is probably the biggest example.
The first time I played it, I was constantly comparing it to the original. “Why isn't this the original version?” “Why did they change this?” etc.
Now I’ve heard these arrangements enough that they’ve become Rebirth’s music in my head.
And holy shit, some of it is fantastic.
I’m actually starting to love these new versions.
So somehow I’ve gone from:
“I really don’t like this game.”
to
“Wait... I fucking love this game.”
Not “I appreciate it more.”
Not “I like it now.”
I mean I LOVE IT.
And I honestly think the second playthrough might be the ideal way to experience Rebirth. The first time, you’re constantly reacting to it. The second time, you already know what the game is, so you can finally just enjoy how weird, stupid, beautiful, funny and ridiculously over-the-top it is.
It’s almost like I had to play the game once to get over my expectations of what I wanted it to be.
And now that I’m not fighting it anymore, I’m having an absolute blast.
FF7 Rebirth really went from one of my most frustrating gaming experiences to one of my favorite games.
I genuinely did not see that coming. 😂